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Sorry for the total radio silence over here! I can’t even remember the last time I sat down and had some free time on my laptop. It is rare and when it happens I usually waste time on Pinterest! So let’s see what has been going on…
Summer went by in the blink of an eye. As per usual we got inundated with smoke from the forest fires. It unfortunately has become the norm for Interior BC. Well actually a lot more areas than that but those are where the fires are that effect our breathing space. It is not only horrible to be happening in the first place but really puts a damper on the summer fun when you can’t breathe fresh air or see the skyline. We still managed to make the most of it though and got in lots of camping and lake time. Feels like forever ago but the warmer temps are long gone as are our tan lines. Till next time summer, you were a peach! No complaints for fall though. It is one of my favourite times of year, especially here in Kamloops. The colours are stunning and for the most part we have sunny days. Crisp but sunny. A few months ago we removed a few fruit trees from our yard so the leaves clean up is pretty minimal this October. In a way that is great but it also took away a lot of fun for the kids. They love playing in the piles of leaves, as most kids do. Still my raking time has been drastically reduced. I will take it!

We are in the throes of Halloween as it is only a few days away. A local landscape company put on fireworks last weekend which was a blast. The fireworks were fantastic though the fact that EVERY CHILD in Kamloops was in attendance made the whole event a little overwhelming. Not to mention my daughter sliced her tiny finger open getting it caught in the port-o-potty door, followed by a bad reaction to too much candy and the site of blood and puking all over me. All is well now but I will not be surprised if we have trouble getting her back in one of those again when its potty time at a public event. Halloween falls on a Wednesday this year so that means Hallie has preschool for half of the day, followed by an afternoon/evening of Trick-Or-Treating and large amounts of sugar. It will no doubt be a very long day, but hey that is what it’s all about!

I love, love, love Halloween but this year i have found it challenging to really get into the swing of things. We still have yet to carve pumpkins and the decorations are not up to the usual Hayward standards. We will have to make up for it next year and go all out! Or maybe we will make up for it this Christmas. The kids are already asking me when the Christmas tree will be arriving. God help my husband, they are turning into Christmas obsessed little monsters, just like their momma. Speaking of monsters….. The phases these two are in at the moment are quite the treat! That was some thinly veiled sarcasm in case no one picked up on it. Jackson is two and is … emotional. A mama’s boy. Stubborn. Sweet as pie. Constantly running around. Oh and hates sleeping. Hallie just turned four. Also emotional. Slightly bipolar it seems at times. Very attached to mom. Heart of cold. Extremely sensitive. They love and hate each other fiercely and like to drive me bonkers. Can’t wait to see what the next phase is like! Often leaving the house with them is extremely daunting but it’s exactly what they need most of the time. That or a tranquilizer… I mean they are perfect little angels and I am never annoyed at them (eye rolls here!). Time and time again I keep telling myself I need to read a parenting book or meditate or work on my patience…. but when I actually have time to think about these self-improvement plans, I end up wasting time googling home decor ideas and recipes on Pinterest. I tried listening to some parenting podcasts on a recent road trip to Vancouver (for a little Luke Bryan baby!) and after four of them I was so annoyed at the people speaking, the sound of their voices was making me cringe. Not to mention I was with Henry and he couldn’t stop making fun of them so it took all of the learning right out of the activity. Sometimes I think parenting is just a survival game. And your weapon of choice is coffee or wine. At least mine is! So now that we are up to date on current events, where are we headed. November is busy. I have limited my business to three local events, including one at a winery. I need to shift the focus of the business to more online presence. The markets just take a bit too much time when you factor in load-in, being there and taking everything down. So I hope to focus on building up the website which you can check out here, and developing the brand on Etsy. If any of you have experience in building your business on Etsy I would love to hear from you! It seems a bit daunting but I know it needs to be done. November will also present some health commitments including flu shots for the kids and the usual dentist visits. Can’t wait for those! Again, sarcasm detected here. We will also begin the slow filtration of ‘winter decor’ which really is my way of decorating for Christmas early. I usually stick to natural tones though so it’s not too obvious (to the husband) and wait for December for the festive pops of colour. Just a hint we are going to play with a lot of greenery and wood this year. I think it’s time I learned how to use power tools. My DIY to-do list is far too long for a certain handy husband. In the next few weeks though I hope to share some DIY decor projects we have already completed, some recipes I am loving at the moment, and some holiday plans and bucket list items we intend to tick off this winter. So stay tuned for some fun, I promise to make more time for sharing on here.

The last long weekend of the summer has arrived. Labor Day weekend is one of my favourites. I am not entirely sure why but there is just something about it. A certain feel or vibe is in the air. Everyone is relaxed and easy going from enjoying recent summer holidays. We are tan with crispy and freckled noses from long sunny days at the lake. ‘Summer feet’ have developed from the lack of wearing shoes. Fall, school & responsibilities are just around the corner but on this weekend, that matters not. Everyone is having a good time and hanging on to the last of the summer sunshine. If you live in the Interior, you also may be hanging on to 35 degree weather. Aside from a wedding on Sunday, we do not have any major long weekend plans. We will be lighting up the bbq non-stop, sipping on some sweet summer drinks, and feeling all the feels that this time of year brings.

Many of you know I am a lover of all seasons. The colors in the leaves & trees changing, the holidays that present themselves all of a sudden and disappear just as quickly. I love it all. It’s a festive passion almost that I plan to encourage my children to embody as well. The summer lovin’, the fullness of Thanksgiving, the spookiness of Halloween and of course the magic of Christmas. The fresh feeling you get when starting the New Year, the excitement of Easter, the easy-going fun that comes with May Long Weekend camping and the patriotic party that comes along with Canada Day. So much fun packed into one year that I find it impossible not to be excited about each season as they approach. I have a number of people in my life who have their favourites too. Some are winter people. They love to ski, snow mobile, drink hot chocolate and hike off into the woods to cut down their own Christmas tree. My mom has a green thumb and loves to create beauty in the garden. The gardeners in my life tend to gravitate towards Spring. Sunday football, chilli & stew lovers always look forward to fall. Though I LOVE all of these moments in the year, I think I have turned into a bit of a summer girl. I love hanging in the sunshine with my kids, eating watermelon for dinner, juicy peaches and corn on the cob. Packing up for the day to head to the lake and bringing most of the sandy beach home with us, finding it in our hair or beds for days to follow. Exploring where we live. If it has cell service, we probably don’t want to go there. Taking that leap into the water only for it to quickly take your breathe away, then adjusting and not wanting to get out for it’s warmer in the water and the sand is going to be way too hot on your feet as you scramble back to your back towel. Summer is a secret escape from routine, bedtimes and stress. Sure those are all present somewhere in our heads and I am not one for living in total denial. But it seems to be a lot easier in summer to ‘leave that for tomorrow’ and enjoy the rest of today. So one question I have as we approach a new season. How can we bring that summer feeling with us all year long. At Christmas time, I FEEL Christmas and vow to carry that happiness, joy and care for others in my heart all year long. On January 1st, we make promises to ourselves that the year ahead will be different than the last. The year ahead will be better. WE will be better. Better people, better mothers, better eaters, better at exercise and spending money. So my vow is to keep summer in my heart this year. Try to be more relaxed. Enjoy more moments with my family and be grateful for our time together and the experiences we have. Keep a little more adventure in my spirit and leave a few of those chores ‘for tomorrow’. I won’t be able to keep my tan or my flip flops and I am guessing it might be hard to enjoy sticky popsicles in the snow. But I can keep summer excitement alive in my family by being brave, playful and present. Everything that summertime requires.

Somehow we have gotten ourselves into the middle of August. Normally I am a glass half full kind of gal and would be thinking we still have lots of summer to go, including a nice September! This month however seems to be a huge downer. The BC Wildfires have taken over the province. Not only is it super smoky but it also seems to bring the temperatures right down making it feel very fall-like. Of course the bigger issue here is for the people in the dangerous areas closer to the fires. My heart goes out to the evacuees who have been forced to pack up with very little notice and stand by waiting to see if their home survives mother nature’s rage. It really is heartbreaking. The community I live in has been outstanding with supporting evacuees which I have to say makes me so proud to live where I do. Unfortunately there is not an end in sight for ending a lot of these fires, but we pray for all of those effected by it and hope for the end soon. Perhaps maybe we can claim back a little of our summer too! We certainly plan to pack as much into the last few weeks of August. This week is a busy one as I have the Farmer’s Market tomorrow for my business which always makes for a hectic week. I am also getting all aspects of family life ready for the end of the week…. parent’s vacation weekend! Yes. We are leaving for three whole days. Gramma has a friend joining the toddler battle field and they are taking care of the two little rascals all weekend long. I know right now I am going to miss my babies like CRAZY (no FaceTime calls allowed, lesson learned on a previous trip – drunk momma talking to babies = ugly crying in the bar). Hubby and I are headed down to Vancouver to see some friends, do some shopping, eating and drinking, AND to see Zac Brown Band! I find it slightly hard to contain my excitement for this show as I have been hoping to see them live for maybe the last five years. So bring it ZBB, this momma is so ready! Once we return we have to pack right up again and head out to see family in Grand Forks, kids and all on this trip. Here’s hoping for a couple winery pop-ins on the way there. And back. We’ll see! Then once we get back from that trip it is right out again in the trailer for a weekend on the lake. Funny how all of this vacation time may just exhaust us. As long as no one gets sick I am going to be happy. Germs ruin the best of times in this family lately. All of this busyness and thinking about the fall season approaching really just leaves me wanting watermelon, sprinkler jumping, sticky popsicle kisses and wet grassed sweaty babies. Summer is so wonderful here in Kamloops and we are totally feeling shafted with it being cut so short. It actually even started late after the longest winter of all time. Time to get out as much as the smoke allows, and soak up all the last sunshine filled summer moments that we can, am I right? So as I catch up on the first Bachelor In Paradise episode (Can I get an Amen for the classiness of all these fabulous people!) I toast you – cheers to the end of summer and all we can cram into it without losing our minds!

OHYA! Did I mention how excited we are about potty training. Public toilets (she thinks its the best…..) Pirate Pack dates. Oh and our new funny faces.

Who looks like they ate FOUR pirate packs…. it’s my one sitting on the floor haha! Oh Jackson . … . .

What a fun weekend! It was a super busy one for us actually. I worked at the local Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning. Though I love the Saturday vibe, it is a bit of an early start. You have to be all set up to go by about 7:45 which means I am setting the alarm to get up at 6:20am… on the weekend! It’s going to be my last one for a few weeks anyways. The markets are awesome but truthfully, this baby belly is just making me a little bit tired. Time to put the breaks on being so busy for the next couple weeks and just wait for baby boy to come I think.

I had the hubs help me out for the market which was lots of fun. Felt like a little date actually. Later that day we had some friends from out of town come over to hang out. They have a baby boy so it was great to expose Hallie to that and see how she interacted with him. She grew more and more affectionate with him as the day progressed and before we knew it, was giving him hugs and gentle head kisses. It was possibly the sweetest thing ever. Made me super excited to see how she will interact with her baby brother. Hopefully those hugs and kisses will be around more often than the playful slaps that tend to come out around the dog lately. I have these awful visions of her wacking the newborn over the head….hopefully that is not the case!

Today was Father’s Day and we had a wonderful one! I feel quite bad as Father’s Day is not really celebrated or recognized to the extent that Mother’s Day is. Dads are the heroes too! At least Henry is in our home. I wanted to make the day super special for him too as we have had our share of stresses round here lately. I wanted him to be able to forget about anything that might be worrying him and just enjoy the day. Oh, and chore free! I made a special effort not to ask him to do anything really hah. We started the day with a cooked breakfast. Not the whole nine yards though – this weekend already seemed to revolve around eating so I wanted to make sure we paced ourselves. I encouraged Henry to then go and have some ‘guy time’ in his workshop, something I know he is always up for. I think he usually feels guilty going to ‘play’ out there when there are so many home projects that we are always working on. Anyways, he took me up on the offer and spent the afternoon making Hallie the cutest wooden wagon… pictures to come of that later because she was overjoyed and now OBSESSED with this adorable miniature wagon. While he was making magic out there, my mom and I created some Father’s Day magic inside. For lunch, we surprised him with an Ice Cream & Special Coffee Bar themed treat. I found the cutest ice cream lanterns on sale at Michaels which kind of inspired the theme. We made mini chocolate cupcakes and picked fresh berries from the garden to go on top. We then made special coffees topped with whip cream, chocolate chips and Reece’s Piece’s; Dad’s Fave. Apparently I was just trying to give everyone diabetes for lunch. Our afternoon consisted of a bit of fresh air and a certain little lady getting dirty in her sandbox. For dinner, my plan had been to try out cooking a rack of ribs. I have experimented with lots of ideas in the kitchen before, but up until now, I had never tried ribs. I opted for the slow cooker method and they actually turned out GREAT! I topped them with a fresh, homemade mango salsa. Summer freshness and meat sweats for the WIN! All in all, the day was a total success and full of love and calories. What more can dad ask for?! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and found special ways to celebrate the hero in your family. I know we love ours so much and are so appreciative for everything he does. Hallie reserves a very special smile for him and my heart BURSTS when I see them sharing their moments. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Just need to prepare myself for the emotional moments coming my way when I see him bonding with BOTH kids. That is going to require some crazy, superhero-strength, mom-tears control…. lord give me the strength to get through that. And labour!!! More on that later… Have a wonderful night everyone and Happy Father’s Day!

It has been pretty hard to keep this secret but the Hubs and I decided to make a little public announcement today. We are having a second baby! All of my posts prior to this where I vaguely mentioned not feeling well and exhaustion, well now the secret as to why is out. Holy mother morning sickness! This pregnancy is completely different to when I was preggers with Hallie. Achy bones, total exhaustion and not to mention being a very sick girl throughout most of the day. I have no idea why they call it morning sickness as it seems to rear it’s ugly head at any time, including the middle of the night. But OTHER than all of those pesky little annoyances, we are so excited that another little baby will be joining our family. Baby number two is due in July of 2016 which makes me 3 months along on Christmas next week. We will be finding out the sex come February (I think) and though I am pretty eager to have another perfect little girl, Hubby has his heart set on a boy. Of course we will be over the moon happy with whatever the outcome is, boy or girl, I just have so many cute girl clothes to reuse. I also don’t know where exactly we are going to put this tiny bundle of joy, who comes with all of the large bulky baby items you use with newborns, as our house is on the tiny side and we are already splitting at the seams. I am going to put that out of mind for now though because there isn’t a darn thing I can do about it yet. I guess I will start to worry about space and organization in late spring.
So now begins the agonizing of how on earth I will cope with two babies under two. Hallie, already being the free spirit that she is, will no doubt keep blossoming into more and more of an energetic little dear. I wonder if her sibling will share her wild personality traits or if he/she will be more on the chill side. Either way, the two of them will have me running around non-stop. Thank goodness it will be summertime and we can spend most of the waking hours outdoors. Bring on summer! I have been so ill that I do not even miss alcoholic beverages but as the warmer months creep up, I will be parched thinking about icy cold beers and cocktails that I am missing out on! So many things to think about between now and then too. Most of all I need to take a step back and soak up the moments. Even the sick ones. Pregnancy only lasts for a short time and I intend to enjoy it! Well at least enjoy using the preggo card to get extra relaxation time on the sofa, should it ever present itself hah. Not to mention all of the yummy treats this time of year! Turkey AND ham on Christmas next week? You bet. Cookie exchange? Sign my pregnant ass up. Tis the season!

If you are living anywhere in B.C. right now, you certainly know about the crazy hot temperatures that we are getting lately. It has been smoking’ hot for quite some time! We have been back and forth from the Coast to Kamloops as well and it does not feel all that different no matter where we go. (more…)

I hope you all had a great Father’s Day weekend! We sure did over here. What a weekend it was actually! Friday started off with Hallie and I headed into the city to check out the new Westcoast Kids location that had opened recently on Main Street. (more…)